Exclusive: "We Tried Everything, But the Address Was Leaked"—Family of Domestic Violence Victim Releases Statement

As the current public official accused of killing his wife—who had relocated to escape domestic violence—underwent a pre-trial detention hearing today (September 3), the victim's bereaved family released a statement expressing regret over the court's handling of address disclosures and the victim protection system.

In a statement sent to SBS, the bereaved family said, "The deceased did everything she could to protect herself and her child," adding, "She reported domestic violence to the police, applied for a restraining order, and was even provided with a smartwatch."

They also pointed out, "Fearing that her location might be exposed, she lived by wiping even her car navigation and dashcam records. Yet despite hiding her traces and being so careful, the deceased's address was exposed through the complaint documents during the divorce lawsuit."

They continued, "Legally, there is a separate procedure to keep an address confidential prior to a divorce lawsuit, but for an ordinary person experiencing a divorce lawsuit for the first time, it is realistically not easy to know about such a system in advance and find and apply for the necessary procedures one by one."

The bereaved family stated, "Upon learning that her address had been exposed, the deceased called her family crying, saying she was 'so terrified.' Because she was someone who had been so cautious and did everything she could to protect herself and her child, the fact that her address was ultimately exposed makes her death even more heartbreaking and painful."

Regarding the police's personal protection measures, they noted, "We are left with regrets regarding the effectiveness of personal protection measures, including smartwatches," adding, "Simply having a means to report an emergency could not fully protect the victim's life."

Regarding the temporary residence recommended by the police, they explained, "It was far from the deceased's workplace and her child's daycare, and there were restrictions on going out, making it realistically difficult to maintain her existing social life and her child's daily routine."

They stated, "For the sake of safety, the victim and her child ultimately had to give up or drastically change their established daily lives," adding, "What the deceased wanted was not special protection, but the ability for her and her child to safely continue their ordinary routines despite the perpetrator's threats."

The bereaved family also appealed for long-term protection measures for the surviving child.

They expressed deep fear, saying, "If the perpetrator receives a light sentence and eventually returns to society, we are terrified of whether the child will truly be safe from the perpetrator even after reaching adulthood," and earnestly requested, "Please ensure that the child, whom the deceased wanted to protect until the very end, does not have to live in this fear for the rest of their life."

They added, "We hope the death of the deceased does not remain just another unfortunate incident," urging society to "use this incident as an opportunity to examine whether the systems protecting domestic violence victims are actually functioning properly in the reality of the victims."

The husband in his 30s, who is a current public official, is accused of stabbing and killing his wife—with whom he was undergoing divorce proceedings—on the stairs of a multi-family housing unit in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, around 7:17 AM on the morning of September 1.

Considering that a young child was present at the scene during the crime, the police applied for an arrest warrant on charges of murder and violation of the Child Welfare Act, and the Suwon District Court's Seongnam Branch held a pre-trial detention hearing this morning at 11:00 AM.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.